Meta

Teaching

Philosophy

The concept of practicality guides both my library instruction and my teaching of English. I believe in teaching students skills that they can apply across disciplines and across semesters. I believe in building solid research, study, and writing skills using engaging projects and activities.

Library Instruction

I perform library instruction for courses in art, architecture, music, and urban planning on the Auraria Campus. I also help train and mentor the library’s graduate assistants as they learn to perform library instruction.

English and First-Year Seminar Courses

First-Year Seminar: College Success

During the 2015-16 academic year, I served as a member of CU Denver’s High-Impact Practices First-Year Subcommittee to help develop new sections of the first-year seminar that focus entirely on skills for college success. I taught sections of College Success (UNIV 1110) as part of the Summer Bridge program in Summer 2016, and again as part of the Undergraduate Experiences office’s offerings in Fall 2016. My students impressed me with their strength and inquisitiveness.

Postcolonial Literature

During Fall 2012, I taught a postcolonial literature course through CU Denver’s First-Year Experience program. The course was titled “Continental Divides: Literature from Five Continents” (ENGL 1111). I will teach it again in Fall 2014, retitled “Love, Blood, and Glory: Literature from a Changing World.”

The course description reads:

“The academic content portion of the course is an introduction to literary studies. Readings will focus on fiction, essays, and poetry frompost-colonial cultures – those that have gained their independence since the mid-20th century. The pieces we read in class will reflect evolving cultures on five continents, and the lives of the individuals who have struggled and thrived among them. They also represent some of the highest quality, most engaging literature and commentary written in the past 60+ years.”

English Composition

While completing my MA in English at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I taught two levels of English Composition: English 11 and English 12 (now retitled English 101 and English 102). Both courses placed emphasis on the process of writing and revision.